March 1, 2014

Recap | Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery

Notre Dame Men’s Basketball Postgame Notes
Pittsburgh 85, Notre Dame 81 (OT)
March 1, 2014
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center – Notre Dame, Ind.

– The Fighting Irish had won six straight games decided in overtime prior to today’s contest … Notre Dame is 3-1 this season in overtime games … Notre Dame is 16-10 in overtime contests under head coach Mike Brey.

– This was the 59th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Pittsburgh … the Fighting Irish lead the series 31-28 … the Irish had won five straight against the Panthers prior to today … Notre Dame is 17-10 at home versus Pittsburgh … Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey is 11-9 all-time against the Panthers.

– Eric Atkins (Sr./G), Pat Connaughton (Jr./G), Steve Vasturia (Fr./G), Tom Knight (GS/F) and Garrick Sherman (Sr./C) started today’s contest … the Fighting Irish are 0-2 this season with this starting lineup … Atkins, Connaughton and Sherman have started all 30 games this season … it was the 10th start for Vasturia and the seventh for Knight.

– Notre Dame shot 54.8% (23-42) from the field … that is the highest percentage for the Irish in an ACC game.

– The Irish tied season-high marks for made free throws (23 on 27 attempts) and free throw percentage (.852) … both figures were highs for Notre Dame in an ACC contest.

– The Fighting Irish were 12-of-23 from three-point range … it was the fourth time this season (second in ACC play) that Notre Dame made 10 or more three-pointers in a game … the 52.2% from three-point range was a team-best for an ACC game.

– Notre Dame led 39-35 at halftime … the Irish are 12-2 this season when leading at the intermission.

– The Fighting Irish are 4-4 this season when wearing gold uniforms.

– A three-pointer from Pat Connaughton in the first half upped Notre Dame’s streak of consecutive games with a made three-pointer to 507.

Eric Atkins (Sr./G) – Scored in double-figures (17 points) for the 22nd time this season and the 13th time in ACC play … has 71 career double-figure scoring efforts. – Dished out a game-high nine assists. – Played all 45 minutes … it was the ninth time this season (seventh in an ACC game) that he played every minute of a game.

Pat Connaughton (Jr./G-F) – Scored in double-figures (team-high 19 points) for a team-best 23rd time this season and the 13th time in an ACC game … has reached double-figures 46 times in his career. – Scored 17 points in the first half.

Steve Vasturia (Fr./G) – Scored a career-high 15 points (previous high was 13 at Syracuse) … netted double-figures for the third time this season (all in ACC games). – Scored 12 of the team’s 16 points in overtime. – Pulled down a career-high (and team-high) six rebounds. – Made a career-high six free throws (on six attempts). – Had a career-high three steals.